Follows the exploits of a down-on-his-luck American as he tries to smuggle an ancient relic out of Cairo during a time of revolution. In 1953, Vidal had already begun writing the works that would launch him to the top ranks of American authors and intellectuals. But in the wake of criticism for the scandalous content of his third novel, The City and the Pillar, Vidal turned to writing crime fiction under pseudonyms: three books as "Edgar Box" and...